Traditional DSP sound personalization methods often rely on administration of an audiogram to parameterize a frequency gain compensation function. Typically, a pure tone threshold (PTT) hearing test is employed to identify frequencies in which a user exhibits raised hearing thresholds and the frequency output is modulated accordingly. These gain parameters are stored locally on the user's device for subsequent audio processing.
However, this approach to augmenting the sound experience for the user is imprecise and inefficient. As hearing test results are stored locally on a single device, the resulting parameter calculations are inaccessible to a central server, as well as other devices. To this extent, separate hearing tests must be conducted on every device—potentially leading to locally incorrect results and inconsistent parameter values stored on different audio output devices. The ability to take hearing tests on multiple devices linked to a core account: 1) encourages users to take tests on whatever device pairing is most convenient at the time, 2) improves accuracy through the consolidation of multiple test results, and 3) enables the tracking of a user's hearing state over time. Additionally, in the instance of aberrant hearing test results, the user can be informed if he or she is using an improperly calibrated device and/or if the hearing test was conducted improperly.
The use of frequency compensation is further inadequate to the extent that solely applying a gain function to the audio signal does not sufficiently restore audibility. The gain may enable the user to recapture previously unheard frequencies, but the user may subsequently experience loudness discomfort. Listeners with sensorineural hearing loss typically have similar, or even reduced, discomfort thresholds when compared to normal hearing listeners, despite their hearing thresholds being raised. To this extent, their dynamic aperture is narrower and simply adding gain would be detrimental to their hearing health in the long run.
Although hearing loss typically begins at higher frequencies, listeners who are aware that they have hearing loss do not typically complain about the absence of high frequency sounds. Instead, they report difficulties listening in a noisy environment and in hearing out the details in a complex mixture of sounds, such as in an audio stream of a radio interview conducted in a busy street. In essence, off frequency sounds more readily mask information with energy in other frequencies for hearing-impaired (HI) individuals—music that was once clear and rich in detail becomes muddled. This is because music itself is highly self-masking, i.e. numerous sound sources have energy that overlaps in the frequency space, which can reduce outright detectability, or impede the users' ability to extract information from some of the sources.
As hearing deteriorates, the signal-conditioning capabilities of the ear begin to break down, and thus HI listeners need to expend more mental effort to make sense of sounds of interest in complex acoustic scenes (or miss the information entirely). A raised threshold in an audiogram is not merely a reduction in aural sensitivity, but a result of the malfunction of some deeper processes within the auditory system that have implications beyond the detection of faint sounds. To this extent, the addition of simple frequency gain provides an inadequate solution
Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide systems and methods for providing personalized audio replay on a plurality of consumer devices through a server-empowered sound personalization account. By providing more accurate and portable parameter sets, a user may be able to enjoy sound personalization, and consequently, a healthier listening experience, across a universe of devices with one simple hearing test.